I Will Not Wear Your Broken Crown
by Arcaknight97
Summary: Ever since Loki was banished to Midgard and forced to work alongside the Avengers, he and Steve have been getting familiar with one another. Tragedy strikes which forces the two apart and makes them rethink their commitments to each other. (Updated version of my previous fic, Mine, updates coming (hopefully) once a week!)
(So I'll be trying to stick to one updated chapter a week, let me know how you guys like it. Also this is still set in the same time frame as it originally was, so around a year after the events of the Avengers movie (I decided to keep it this way because with the new movies it would be too much of a pain to juggle it all, plus Steve/Buck is something I'd like to try at a later date, something for the future perhaps). I hope you like the new content ^^)

This new fic is an updated version of it's older sibling, Mine. If you'd like to see roughly where this story is heading (and can handle the cringey first person nature of the original fic) then head on over to my account and you should be able to find Mine there :D

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Steve eased into the café chair, half raising his hand to let Beth know he and his partner were ready to order. She gave a faint smile in response before returning to her customer at hand. Steve turned back to the man sitting across from him and he found himself in a reverie. Green eyes reflected the morning sun bouncing from passing cars; there was a sort of possessiveness to Steve's returning gaze.

"Morning you two!-" a sweet voice broke Steve's trance, "-the usual I presume?" Beth smiled down at him, notepad at the ready.  
"Yeah, suppose I hardly have to call you over these days" Steve grinned, reaching for the change in his pocket to pay.  
"Well you and Loki have been coming here for almost 6 months now, same day, same time, each week. I think it's safe to say you're both regulars" she winked, accepting the change and sauntering back inside the café.

Loki let out a low scoff, "I don't like her" he grumbled, making Steve's mouth curve into a silent laugh. It was comforting, these moments of weakness from Loki; it let him know that even if he was a god, he was more than capable of such emotions as jealousy.  
"So you've said in past visits" Steve mused, reaching his hand over to skim across Loki's, fingers interlacing briefly. "You do realise she's engaged? And I have commitments of my own, right?" he teasingly ran his fingers atop Loki's hand in hopes to ease his running mind. Apparently his gentle touch had little effect, as if on cue Beth returned, resulting in Loki snatching his hand back and looking up at the lazy clouds passing by.

"One Earl Grey, no sugar-" Beth smiled warmly at Loki who pretended to study a particularly boring looking pigeon flying past. Warm smile turning awkward, Beth placed down the cup "-and one black coffee." Steve reached for his cup and leaned forward to take a sip, upper lip twitching slightly at the heat. Beth visibly swallowed, standing a little stiffly by their side. Steve noted how she had been pulling at her notepad, pages already torn from the torment.  
"Something the matter?" Steve frowned, lowering his cup down onto the table; which is what would have happened if he hadn't stupidly forgotten that he was sitting out from the table. Hot coffee came tumbling down onto his lap, causing Steve to jolt upright in surprise.

Beth acted first, reaching for a handful of napkins and began dabbing at the coffee currently seeping into Steve's clothes. "Oh god, I'm sorry" Beth exclaimed, reaching for more napkins only to be stopped by Loki's hand covering her wrist. Steve could see it already, those green eyes had turned dark and he didn't look forgiving.  
"You've got nothing to be sorry for, it was my mistake" Steve said, giving Loki a pointed look. It sent the right signal as Loki removed his hand, though his expression was still cold. "Beth, it's fine, promise" he soothed, resting his hand on her shoulder as he sat back down. "I'm more concerned about you-" Steve ignored Loki's soft scoff, "-you seem… nervous?" he queried.

Beth had given Loki a sidelong glance, lips pursed for a moment before she relaxed and had her hands up waving in front of her face. "No no, it's nothing really." She laughed, "I'll go get you a new coffee, on the house." Beth left a little hurriedly before Steve could stop her, leaving him confused and still wet.

"I really don't like her" Loki murmured over his cup, taking a small sip. Steve leaned back in his chair and stared at Loki, absently wiping at the wetness to his clothes. He had tried finding out the reason for this distaste towards Beth in the past but all Loki would grumble out was the same thing each time.

 _"She's too friendly"_  
 _"Loki, she's a waitress, it's how she gets tipped"_  
 _"She's always smiling at you"_  
 _"Lots of people smile at me"_  
 _"She always finds a way to touch you"_  
 _"We're friends, a hand on the shoulder doesn't mean anything_ "

"It meant something to me" Loki sighed, returning his cup to its saucer. That caught Steve off guard, "what?" he asked.  
"The napkins… it meant something to me" Loki huffed; it never did please him to sound so forlorn. "I think she may like you and-" Steve had let out a laugh that stopped Loki from continuing.  
"Loki, she's getting married in like, what? 3 months?" Steve snorted, "I think it's safe to say she's definitely not chasing anyone else down" his hand reached for Loki's and he held onto a couple of his fingers, smiling more to himself as Loki returned the touch.  
"But you're different than other men" it was almost a whine, one Loki wasn't proud of. "Most women, and men, would drop everything to be with you" he tensed at that. Loki knew the popularity surrounding his partner, it was something he both relished in and struggled with all the time. It was nice at times, to have America's golden boy as his own, to claim that body as he pleases and make it known that Steve belonged to him. Other times, Loki felt that Steve was just waiting for something, someone, better to come along and ruin everything Loki had built in his short time here.

"Hey," Steve murmured, lacing their fingers together, "You're probably right. But that doesn't mean I want any of them" he smiled, pulling Loki's hand up to his face and kissing his knuckles. "I don't think I'll ever want any of them" Steve knew it was the truth, he came to the conclusion a few months back that he was indeed in love with Loki; a thought that shocked him sometimes. "You're all I want, Loki, I promise" he smiled and gave Loki's hand a squeeze. "Though I have to admit, it's kinda hot seeing you get jealous all the time" Steve teased, earning a cool glare from the god.

"One new fresh cup of coffee" Beth had returned, and seemingly resumed back to her happy nature. "Anything else I can get you two?" she asked, more to Steve than the both of them. For good reason, Loki had quietly mocked her bubbly voice as he sipped at his drink. Steve eyed him for a moment before returning to Beth, smiling.  
"Well, perhaps now you could tell us what's wrong?" Steve had known Beth for almost a year now; it was safe to say they were friends. That borderline awkward fidget had returned and Beth's cheeks reddened.  
"It's nothing, it can wait, and I don't want to disrupt anything" she tried to hide her slightly rushed babbling with a laugh, waving Steve off. "It's really not a big deal" she assured. Steve's attention to Beth was pulled when he heard a clamour a little ways down the street; a child had jumped from his chair and was pointing frantically in the air, yelling excitedly about something.  
"Iron Man! Mum, look, Iron Man!" he gushed and pulled at his mother's sleeve. Sure enough there was Stark, flying rather low today and heading in their general direction.  
"Steve, Loki, Fury wants to speak with us. Best to head up now" Tony's voice projected from the suit and before either of them could respond he was off, headed back to the Avengers tower.

Steve sighed and turned to Beth, giving an apologetic look, "next time we come around we'll talk, okay?" Beth smiled and touched his arm, "thanks, but don't worry. It's not that big of a deal. Anyway you guys should go. Important Avengers business and stuff I'm sure." Beth was called away by a customer asking for a refill, leaving Steve with a grouchy Loki.

"Loki, it was jus-"  
"I told you she's always touching you!"  
"We're friends, she's engaged, and I love you" Steve stood with his coffee and walked to Loki, who had begun moving towards the tower. "While I find the jealousy to be a turn on, it's also something that I don't understand" Steve sighed and placed his right hand on Loki's upper arm, pulling him in for a soft kiss. Loki turned his head away, causing Steve to kiss his cheek. With a chuckle, Steve kissed along Loki's jawline and then found his way to his initial target; Loki accepted the kiss this time, but pulled back after just a few moments.  
"You wouldn't understand. You've never had to deal with people turning away from you" Loki muttered as he pulled from Steve's grip and carried on his path. Steve had stopped at that, knowing the history between Loki and his family. He hadn't realised something like this would remind him so much of his time back on Asgard.  
"Loki, I'm sorry" Steve managed to grab Loki's elbow and pull him back a bit, holding him, "I keep forgetting… But don't worry; I'm never going to leave. You're stuck with me" he grinned and pressed a kiss to the back of Loki's ear.

Loki seemed to relax a bit after that, even flashed a smile that belonged only to Steve.  
"Come on, golden boy. Fury hates me enough as it is, best not give him an excuse to blame me for making us late" Loki rolled his eyes and pulled on Steve's arm and giving the man a soft jab in the side.


End file.
